


say it with flowers

by callmevenji



Category: Love Victor (TV 2020)
Genre: Aged Up, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Language of Flowers, M/M, flower shop au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 06:14:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28755729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/callmevenji/pseuds/callmevenji
Summary: What flowers say "Benji has a flower shop and Victor keeps showing up every Sunday but they're both awkward and clueless"?
Relationships: Benjamin "Benji" Campbell & Felix Weston, Benjamin "Benji" Campbell/Victor Salazar, Mia Brooks/Lake Meriwether
Comments: 48
Kudos: 39





	1. daisies

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I've been meaning to write this for months but I kept delaying it for one reason or another but it's finally here! Enjoy <3

Benji looks at the entrance of the shop for the 100th time in the last ten minutes. He should be arriving any second now. Just like every Sunday for the past two months.

“No, no, no, that doesn’t look the way I wanted it to.” The young woman in front of him says again. “I don’t think you’re doing this right.”

Benji closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes, he looks at Lake and gives her a tight-lipped smile. “What do you want to change?”

Lake sighs and crosses her arms, she stares intently at the bouquet in front of them and frowns. “I’m not sure, but this looks terrible.”

Benji bites his tongue. _You picked out these ugly ass flowers and ignored me when I tried to talk you out of it, what were you expecting?_ He wants to tell her, but he knows she’s a loyal customer, and his friend, so instead, he smiles politely at her.

“Okay, what if we took out the dianthus and…” Benji starts taking the bouquet apart and rearranging it to his liking, dirt getting all over his hands and leaves falling onto the table. He works with ease, his fingers strategically moving without damaging the flowers. After a couple of minutes, a brand new bouquet has been formed. “There, what do you think?” Benji asks with a genuine smile on his face, he takes a step back to admire his work with pride.

Lake stares at the bouquet with a scowl on her face. “No, I hate it, can we just do some lilies?”

 _God damn it, Lake._ Benji stares at the entrance of the shop with a panicked look on his face; he has to go get the flowers to the back of the shop, but what if Victor arrives while he’s gone?

Benji swallows his groan and nods, better be quick. “Sure, let me go get them.” He turns around without waiting for an answer and goes to the flower cooler. 

Felix waves at him from his desk wearing an intricate flower crown on his head; his employee and best friend is sorting through the orders for the next day, while Benji takes care of anyone that enters the shop. They are a good team and Benji is thankful for the help, he really wouldn’t be able to do it on his own. 

Benji points at the front of the store and mimicks slashing his throat. Felix and he have a running joke about Lake being the most annoying customer ever.

He opens the cooler and looks around, moving buckets and bins full of flowers out of the way, he has several pre-made bouquets stored in the back so he reaches for a vase with nine stems of Asiatic Lilies in different shades of pink, if he knows Lake as well as he thinks he does, she will love it.

Just as he’s getting out of the cooler, he hears the bell at the entrance of the shop ringing.

“Just a second!” He shouts, hurriedly locking the cooler behind him and walking back to the front of the store. He carries the vase in front of him, covering most of his face with the flowers; he can’t see who it is so he blindly says his usual greeting: “Welcome to ‘By Any Other Name’, how can I help you?” 

“Hi, Benji,” Victor greets him. “I’m here to get some, um, flowers.”

Benji feels his heart racing and his face heating up as he recognizes the voice; he places the vase down on the table, right beside the discarded bouquet. “Well, I have good news for you, that’s exactly what we…” He trails off as he turns around, the gorgeous man is awkwardly standing in the middle of the shop. Benji clears his throat. “Um, that’s what we sell… I’ll be with you in a minute, Victor.” 

Victor nods and starts looking around the shop. Benji stares at him, he seems more dressed up than usual, his hair is slicked back and he’s wearing a suit jacket. It suits him, or so Benji thinks.

Lake claps her hands bringing Benji out of his daydream, she squeals at the new vase. “Yes, perfect! Mia will love it, can you add a little note that says…” She purses her lips, deep in thought. “‘Today we celebrate the best decision you ever made. Happy Anniversary.’” She smiles, proud of herself.

Benji shakes his head trying to concentrate. He reaches for one of the paper cards he keeps inside a small box and writes down what Lake has instructed; he has always taken pride in his handwriting, which is why he always wrote the notes that accompanied the flower arrangements himself, they all have a story and Benji loves being a part of it somehow.

“There you go, Lake, that’ll be… $26.99,” He says absentmindedly before going back to staring at Victor, who is patiently waiting for him leaning against a wall. He looks up and their eyes meet, Benji blushes and looks away immediately. 

Lake looks behind her to see what Benji is staring at. “Benjamin Campbell, you like him!” She whispers mockingly.

“Shh! I do not.” Benji whispers back, his face going even redder.

Lake giggles and gives him way more money than he asked for. “Whatever you say, sweetie. Keep the change.” She winks and grabs the vase from the counter. “See you soon!”

“Tell Mia I say hi!” 

Benji puts the money on the cash register before walking over to Victor. “Sorry about that, so… What are you looking for?” He asks, just like every Sunday.

The first Sunday Victor had come to the shop, he had asked for some flowers that said ‘I’m sorry but I’m not coming to Sunday family dinner for a while’; which was a weird request in itself but Benji, the flower nerd he is, had an answer ready for him, and the game had begun.

He usually just spewed some random flowers and herbs that weren’t really available and then Victor would just choose whichever bouquet or vase he liked, not really caring about the meaning. It was fun.

Benji smiled expectantly at Victor, waiting to hear this Sunday’s request.

“Um, do you have any flowers that say… ‘I love you but please fuck off.’”

Benji raises his eyebrows, taken aback. “Alright, um, let’s see: I’d start with some greenery… nettles which mean ‘slander’ and hemlocks, which mean ‘you’ll be the death of me’ as filler, a tansy or two for texture, those mean ‘declaration of war’, the main flower would’ve to be red tulips to represent the love and then some camellias, perhaps? Those are for affection.”

Victor chuckles, delighted by Benji’s speech. “Isn’t hemlock poisonous?”

Benji chuckles. “Well, yeah, most of those are poisonous and/or not in existence. But let’s arrange something good for you.” He guides Victor towards his flower arrangement space. “So, what did you have in mind? Apart from the passive-aggressive message.”

Victor looks at the flowers all around them, brow furrowed in concentration. “I have no idea which ones she would like. They have to be extra-special today, it’s her birthday.”

Benji nods, thoughtfully; he takes a deep breath before finally asking the question he has had on his mind for the last few weeks. “Um, how long have you been with her? If- If you don’t mind me asking.” He usually avoids hearing his clients’ life stories but Victor has been coming to the shop every Sunday without a fault to get flowers for a mysterious ‘she’. Benji wants to know more.

Victor gives him a confused look. “My whole life…? Oh! You thought these were for… No, no, these are for my overbearing but well-meaning mom. Ever since my sister announced she’s getting married, she won’t stop asking me when will I get a boyfriend, hence why I want her to fuck off.” He scrunches up his face, uncomfortable. “Sorry… The flowers help, though, she’s somewhat toned it down since I started getting them for her.”

Benji bites his lip, trying to conceal his smile. “I’m glad the flowers help.”

Victor gives him a tight-lipped smile. “Maybe just some colorful flowers? I don’t know, you always choose the right thing.” Victor says, before adding: “Her favorite color is orange if that helps.”

Benji hums while going over their inventory in the back of his mind. “I think I have just the thing.” He starts walking back to the coolers. “Just wait right here.”

Victor’s eyes light up with excitement and relief. “Great, take your time.”

Benji grabs a pre-greened vase and carefully chooses the perfect combination of flowers, his hands combing through the piles with practiced ease. With a sunset of flowers in his arms, he closes the cooler behind him and walks back towards the front of the shop.

Victor is bent down smelling a bucket full of freesias, he hasn’t heard Benji return. Benji puts everything on the table without taking his eyes off of him; Victor looks cute surrounded by all the flowers, Benji can’t help but think he might even look prettier than them.

He clears his throat. “What do you think about these?” 

Victor looks at him startled. “Oh! Um, sure, they’re very pretty.”

 _Well, of course they’re pretty, they’re flowers._ “Do you think she’ll like them?” Benji pushes.

“Oh, yeah,” Victor nods with a small smile on his lips. “I’m sure she will.”

Benji starts arranging the flowers in the vase, cutting and bending the stems as needed. Victor stands nearby, watching as Benji’s hands move quickly around the flowers, expertly getting them into a cohesive arrangement.

“There. Is it okay? Would you like to add a note?” Benji asks while putting the finishing touches on the bouquet., already knowing the answer.

“Uh… Yeah,” He purses his lips, deep in thought. “Just ‘Happy Birthday, mom. Love, Victor’?”

He grabs one of his paper cards and writes the message carefully, taking his time to get it just right. He bites his lip in concentration and decides to add some flourishes to the capital letters, putting special attention to the ‘V’ in Victor. After several minutes, it’s done.

He places the paper in between the flowers, careful not to wreck his previous work, and shows it to Victor. “What do you think?”

Victor sighs, relief pouring out of him. “It’s perfect. I’m sure she’ll love it.” He gets his wallet out. “How much will that be?”

Benji smiles, proud of the work he has just done. “I’m glad! That’ll be $45.99.”

Victor pays for the bouquet and adds a hefty tip. Benji frowns. “It’s already an expensive bouquet, you don’t have to-”

“Please accept it. You really saved me today, and every Sunday, to be honest.” Victor explains quickly.

Benji accepts the bills reluctantly. Victor smiles at him one last time before grabbing the vase and turning around, ready to walk out of the shop.

“Wait!” Benji blurts out. Victor turns around, quizzically. Benji looks around in a frenzy; he grabs a beautiful red tulip and offers it to the other man. “Uh, here. Please take it, as a thank you for your generous tip.”

Victor raises his eyebrows in surprise. “O-okay. Thank you.” Victor tries to grab it, maneuvering the vase in his arms and almost dropping it. “Oops. Wait. Let me just-” He readjusts his grip on the vase.

Benji flinches. _What am I doing?_ “Sorry, it’s-”

Victor finally grabs the flower, stopping Benji’s train of thought. “Thank you, it’s beautiful.”

Benji’s about to answer ‘You, too’ when, thankfully, he’s interrupted by Felix. 

“Hey, Benji? We have an issue with the order for the-” Felix stops mid-sentence, “Oh, sorry, am I interrupting? Just come to the back when you’re done.”

“N-no, it’s okay. I was just leaving. Um, bye, Benji. See you next Sunday.” Victor says.

Benji smiles, Victor’s goodbye sounding like a promise. “Yeah. See you around.”

Victor nods and attempts to wave almost forgetting the huge vase on his arms. He tightens his grip around it and blushes. “Bye.” He says quietly before leaving.

Benji stares at the door for a few seconds. 

“You’re in love!” Felix giggles. 

Benji turns to Felix. “Wipe that stupid smile off your face. I am not.”

“Oh, but you are!” He bites his lip. “This is so exciting!”

“I don’t even know him, Felix. Stop it.” Benji walks past him to the back of the store. “What’s the issue you were talking about?”

“Don’t change the subject. Did you finally get his number?”

“Of course not.” He gives Felix a look. “And I’m not changing the subject. We’re at work. Now let’s fix this.”

Felix ignores him and sits down on his desk, resting his chin in his palms with his fingers curled up against his cheeks. “I think he might like you back.”

“Oh shut up, you saw him for like half a second,” Benji says rolling his eyes at his friend’s antics.

“And that was enough to get intoxicated by all the pheromones in the air!”

“Felix, stop,” Benji warns him.

Felix raises his arms up and shrugs. “Fine, fine. Sorry. I just think this could be good for you.”

“Well, don’t. Let’s just focus on work, okay?” 

“Fine…” Felix grabs his notepad and sighs. “So, I was checking on the Palmer’s wedding order and…”

* * *

Victor feels his heart racing as he leaves the flower shop. He tightens his grip around the vase and his flower; he holds the red tulip tightly, not wanting to drop it, and attempts to breathe it in.

He gets into his car and places the vase in the passenger seat but keeps his grasp on the red tulip, not ready to let it go.

As he sits on the driver’s seat, he places the red tulip on his lap and sighs. As much as he used to hate Sundays, now they’re his favorite day of the week.

Sunday family dinners have been a tradition in his household ever since he moved out for college. At first, they were okay, Victor loves his family and he missed them while he was away. It hadn’t been until recently that things had gone sour.

Victor looks back at the shop one more time, Benji’s nowhere to be seen. He shakes his head and starts to drive. It is Sunday after all, they mean seeing Benji but they also mean seeing his mom.

The thing is, ever since his sister, Pilar, got engaged, there has been no shortage of questions and inquiries about his love life from Isabel.

“Aren’t you tired of being all by yourself?” _No, I have friends and all of you, I’m not by myself, mom._

“I want you to be happy, mijo, you deserve a loving partner.” _I am happy, mom. I don’t need someone else for that._

And the worst one, “Do you have a date for your sister’s wedding?” _No, I won’t need a plus one. I’ll dance by myself or with you once dad gets tired._

Victor had been running out of patience, he had started considering skipping Sunday family dinner until after the wedding. That is until he decided to get her flowers a couple of months ago. In reality, the flowers had been to announce that he wouldn’t be joining the rest of the family for dinner until further notice, he had been done. 

But then the cute florist happened, and Isabel had been too distracted by the flowers that she had forgotten about Victor’s love life or lack thereof.

And if Victor had gone back to ‘By Any Other Name’ the following Sunday, well, that was just to keep his mom occupied. Not because of the cute florist and his tight t-shirts. Nope. Not at all.

Victor takes a deep breath before knocking on the door.

“Flaco! I’m so glad you were able to make it!” Armando greets him a few seconds later, hugging him and crushing the flowers a little.

“Hey, dad.”

“Come on in, your mom is in the living room,” Armando closes the door behind him and leads him to the couch where Isabel is engrossed in a conversation with Adrian.

“Happy birthday, mami,” Victor says as enthusiastically as he can.

“Ay mijo, are these for me?” She gets up from the couch and points to the flowers as if she hadn’t been getting them every Sunday. Victor nods. “They’re lovely! Come on, let’s put them over here.”

They walk to the dinner table and Isabel puts them in the middle of it as a centerpiece.

“I love them, Vic,” She hugs her son. “You know, if you had a boyfriend you could be getting gorgeous flowers like these for him.”

Victor fights the urge to roll his eyes. _Well, the flowers had worked for far too long._ “Yup, but I don’t so you get to have them.” He gives her a sarcastic smile.

“I just want what’s best for you.” She furrows her brow. “I worry about you.” 

“I’m fine, mami, I don’t need a boyfriend.”

“Well, maybe you don’t but I need you to have one. Just for my peace of mind.” Isabel sighs. “Dios, dame paciencia…”

“Mami-”

“What do you mean you quit?!” Pilar shouts, barging into the room with her phone pressed against her ear and a scowl on her face. “Whatever, Nancy! You’re the least helpful wedding planner in all of Atlanta!” She ends the call and her face turns red. Victor flinches, knowing what is coming. “Ah!” She screams.

“What was that, mi vida?” Isabel asks going over to comfort her.

“Freaking Nancy happened. I hate her!” Pilar grunts. “She was supposed to call the vendors to confirm dates, times, all of that, and she just told me she never called the florist in the first place so now we have no flowers. In a garden wedding, mom! No flowers!”

“Calm down, let’s just relax and we’ll find a solution…” Isabel says, guiding her daughter to one of the chairs. She stares at her birthday bouquet. “Victor! You know a florist, right?”

Victor’s stomach does a somersault. “Well, I don’t really know him, I just-”

“Well, call him and get a wedding consultation for your sister.” She tells him before turning to Pilar. “Victor has been bringing me the most beautiful arrangements, I’m sure he’ll do a good job.”

“He?” Pilar smirks and turns to a nervous-looking Victor. “Why are you getting all flustered?”

“I’m not,” Victor crosses his arms.

“Fine, whatever, I’m sure he’ll make a better job than freaking Nancy,” Pilar says looking at her phone with disgust.

“You know Nancy doesn’t live in there, right?” Adrian teases as he enters the room.

Victor fights the smile blooming on his face, but soon there’s no need to fight it because he realizes what just happened: Pilar will be meeting Benji. What has he gotten himself into?


	2. freesias

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victor returns to 'By Any Other Name' and there's more gay panic.

Victor stares at his clock, it’s far too early to be awake. He groans and rubs his eyes, trying to get the sleep out of them. 

He’s outside of ‘By Any Other Name’ at the asscrack of dawn, hating every single decision that has led him to this point in his life. He had set his alarm at this ungodly hour with the intent of getting to the shop just as it opened in order to go to work afterward. Bad idea.

Either the shop’s website has lied or whoever’s in charge of opening, Victor hopes it’s Benji, is late.

Victor is about to leave when someone crashes against him, making him topple over and almost fall.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” 

Victor regains his balance and turns around, he has to hide his disappointment when he realizes that it’s not Benji.

“Oh! It’s you.” Felix says with a big smile on his face, which promptly turns into a frown. “Is it Sunday today?”

Victor raises his eyebrows in surprise. “Uh… No.”

“Huh, well, come on in. I’m sorry I’m late. I was on opening duty but I got into a Twitter fight with  _ the _ Wendy’s Twitter account and I couldn't let them win, you know?”

“Oh, um, that’s okay.”

Felix opens the store and turns the closed sign around, he walks around greeting the flowers and turning on the lights. “Oh, you just get prettier and prettier every day, yes! Yes, hello, my beautiful babies.” He says with a baby voice.

Victor stands by the entrance, not sure of what else to do.

“Um, is… Is Benji working today or…?” Victor asks tentatively, not wanting to show how much he wanted to see the other man.

“Oh yeah, he’s here every day. He’ll get here any minute now.” Felix says, still walking around and petting some of the flowers. “He’s on flower market duty today which means a moody Benji for the rest of the day. He hates getting up at 4 am and he’s  _ not _ a morning person.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, you’re lucky I’m here to help you. You do not want to be stuck with Flower Market Benji.” Felix says, still smiling at him. “Anyway, what can I help you with?”

“My sister needs flowers for her wedding,” Victor says lamely. “I’m here to book a consultation for her.” He trails off at the end of the sentence and it ends up coming out as a question.

“Oh, good, good!” Felix says grabbing a notepad from Benji’s desk. “First of all, congratulations.”

“I-I’m not the one getting married.”

“Well, no, but you’re getting a new brother.”

Victor tilts his head. “Sister.”

“Oh! Sorry, I just-”

“It’s okay, I don’t-”

The bell rings, making both Felix and Victor turn around towards the entrance of the shop. Benji is carrying a giant box full of vases in his arms.

“Felix!” He screams panicked. “A little help?” He grunts, his arms starting to give out under the weight. Felix runs to help him and, between the two, they put the box down.

Victor observes the exchange, he stares as Benji’s arms flex with the effort of carrying the box, a few strands of his hair fall on his forehead and Victor has to resist the urge to go up to him and fix it.

“Thanks, man. That was close.” Benji lifts up his shirt and wipes his forehead with it, exposing his toned abs. Victor swallows hard, trying to stop his train of thought from going  _ there. _

“Sure thing, loverboy,” Felix exclaims with a wink.

“What?” Benji frowns, confused by the nickname.

“He’s back, and it’s not even Sunday,” Felix whispers to him, not answering his question.

“What are you-? Oh!” Benji spots Victor standing awkwardly by the gerbera daisies. “Victor, hey.”

Victor stares at him, all thoughts leaving his head and rendering him unable to form a coherent sentence. “Uh.”

“He was asking for you,” Felix says with a simper.

“You were?” Benji asks Victor in a hopeful tone.

Victor shakes his head, trying to get his brain to cooperate with him. “Um, yes. I wanted to thank you for the flowers, my mom loved them.”

“I’m glad, you’re welcome,” Benji half-smiles.

“I’ll go ahead and unload the truck,” Felix says, not waiting for an answer and leaving Benji and Victor alone at the shop.

Benji clears his throat and walks toward Victor, “Um, do you need some more flowers? How can I help you?”

“Uh…” Victor falters, he bits his lip. “I wanted to book a wedding consultation.” Benji raises his eyebrows. “For my sister!” Victor adds quickly. “Not for me, I-I’m not…” He trails off.

Benji nods and grabs the discarded notepad. “Alright,” he says under his breath. “When do you want to schedule it?”

“This Sunday?”  _ That way I can be here and make sure Pilar doesn’t pull something. _

“Okay,” Benji jots something down. “Do you have the date and place of the wedding? Just so that we can be prepared.” He explains.

Victor scurries to get his phone out of his pocket, “Just a sec.” He sorts through his pictures until he finds one of the invitation. He shows it to Benji and he writes it down.

“It’s a garden, yes?”

“Yes,” Victor confirms. Benji jots something down.

Benji stays silent for a moment. “It’s weird to see you here on a Tuesday.”

“Oh, um, yeah. My sister was freaking out about the flowers and she kinda forced me to do this.”

“It’s sweet that you’re helping her.”

Victor rubs the back of his neck. “I guess… I didn’t even want to come. I don’t even like flowers.” Victor laughs before realizing what he had just said. Benji looks mildly offended. “Wait, no, no! I do like them- Flowers are so cool, I love them! I didn’t mean that! I  _ love _ flowers!”

Benji bites his lip and stares at the notepad in his hands, trying not to laugh at how flustered Victor looks. Benji has to admit it, he’s pretty adorable.

“It’s okay,” he chuckles.

Victor hides his face behind his hands, he’s mortified. “I’m so sorry. I-I’ll come back with my sister on Sunday. I’m sorry.” He says practically running to the exit.

He runs past Felix who’s coming back with a bunch of flowers in his arms. “See you soon, Victor!” He exclaims after him before turning to Benji. “He seems great. I like him.”

Benji shakes his head with a chuckle. 

“I think he wanted to see you,” Felix says.

Benji dismisses him with his hand. 

“I’m serious,” Felix insists. “He was here before me, who comes willingly at this hour?”

“Oh, but he didn’t come here willingly. His sister forced him, apparently.” He shrugs. “Anyway, those flowers won’t process themselves. Please get today’s orders ready while I do that.”

“Fine, but you have to admit that his beautiful cinnamon complexion and soft-looking hair are driving you mad.”

“No.”

“Come on, admit that you like him.”

“No, Felix. I don’t like him, I have no time for that.” Benji grabs a bunch of pink roses and drops them on his table, starting to process them one by one. “This flower shop is the love of my life and I can’t afford any distractions.”

“Benji, ‘By Any Other Name’ is doing just fine. You’ve worked so hard for it, you can and you should have something else in your life that brings you joy.” Felix places his hand on Benji’s shoulder. “You deserve it, man.”

“I think the coolers need to be cleaned,” Benji says, shrugging Felix’s hand off.

Felix sighs but relents. “Just think about it, B.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Benji concentrates on the flowers in front of him, his calloused hands no longer feeling any pain from the thorns, he starts to remove the leaves and get them ready to be dethorned.

The truth is, Benji has worked too hard to get his flower shop to where it’s at. His family had all laughed at him when he had dropped out of college and decided to become a florist, he has always felt like he has something to prove, and now that the shop is locally recognized and doing  _ really _ well, he’s afraid to let his guard down. He just can’t afford to lose focus. Not even for someone as cute as Victor.

* * *

The next Sunday, Benji is convinced Victor won’t be back, it’s almost closing time and there has been no sign of the other man.

“He’ll come, I know it.” Felix keeps saying while Benji pretends not to feel his heart beating out of his chest whenever the bell rings.

They hadn’t agreed on a certain time but Benji had just assumed it’d be the same as always. Why does Benji feel like he’s being stood up? 

He shakes his head and focuses on the alstroemerias he’s processing. He’s not sure why he wants Victor to come back to the flower shop, he has repeated over and over to himself and to Felix that he doesn’t want a relationship, that the flower shop requires his whole attention.

Maybe it’d be for the best if he never showed up.

The bell rings and Benji feels his stomach dropping right out of his ass; he looks up and is disappointed when he sees it’s not Victor.

“Welcome to “By Any Other Name”, how may I help you?” Felix says coming out from the back, a new flower crown sitting on his head. Benji’s grateful, he’s not in the mood.

“Hi, I just want a rose bouquet.” The man says with no much interest. Benji tunes him out.

Felix takes care of the man while sending concerned glances at Benji every few minutes.

Once the man leaves with his rose bouquet, Benji snaps. “What?”

“You tell me,” Felix says pointing to the flowers on Benji’s hands. “You’re about to ruin those.”

Benji drops the flowers. “Shit.”

“I can close today if you want to go home.” Felix proposes. 

Benji sighs. “No, no. I’m fine. I’ll take these to the cooler.” He grabs the flowers in his arms and goes to the back.

He hears the bell ringing again, his first instinct is to drop the flowers wherever and run to the front to see if it’s Victor but he hears Felix greeting whoever it is and the voice of a girl answering, a girl that’s clearly not Victor. He sighs. He needs to chill.

He takes his time putting the flowers in their place, making sure that they’re not being crushed or crushing any of the other flowers. 

“Benji! I need some help here!” Felix shouts after a few moments.

“Coming!”

Benji makes sure that the cooler is firmly sealed and walks back to the front of the shop, he crashes against Felix who’s running to the back.

“Oof!” Benji catches him. “What’s up?”

“I was coming to get you.” He says breathlessly. “Your wedding consultation is here.”

“Oh.”

“I told you he would come.”

Benji straightens out his shirt and runs his hand through his hair. “Okay, cool. Whatever.” He shrugs.

Felix gives him an amused expression before pushing him. “Go.”

Benji nods and walks to the front of the store, where a woman is walking around looking at all their flowers. Victor is also there, but, you know, whatever.

“Welcome to “By Any Other Name”, how may I help you?” Benji says with a flat tone, not looking away from the woman. She looks up at him and then at Victor.

“Hi, Benji,” Victor says, hoping to get Benji’s attention. “Um, we’re back for the wedding consultation…”

Benji looks at him briefly and flashes him a smile, his customer service instincts kicking in. “Sure, over here.” He says before grabbing his notepad.

Victor walks slowly toward him. “Sorry we’re late, Pilar here is a little unpuctual sh-”

“You never gave me a time,” Pilar interrupts him and sends him a dirty look. “I thought we would come after dinner.”

Benji feels his bad mood fading away, a small smile takes over his features.

“That’s okay,” Benji says softly. Their eyes meet and neither of them looks away this time, Victor’s lips break into a grin to match Benji’s.

Pilar looks at the exchange with an amused expression. 

“So, are you the bride to be?” Benji asks Pilar, finally looking away from Victor.

Pilar smirks and walks up to them, standing beside Victor. “Yup, and you’re my brother’s favorite florist.”

Victor nudges her on the ribs and forces a smile on his face, hoping that Benji won’t notice the blush on his face. “I just  _ love  _ this store. It… smells so good. I wanna live here.”

Both Pilar and Benji stare at him with different levels of confusion.

“Funny, I thought you didn’t even like flowers,” Benji says with a smirk. “Or wait, no, flowers are cool and you love them, right?”

Victor scrunches up his face. “I’m sorry about that… I do like florists- flowers! Flowers, I like flowers!” 

Pilar watches them with her eyebrows raised, she’s torn between letting her brother make an even bigger fool of himself or saving him from any further embarrassment. 

She chooses the latter. “So, the wedding consultation. I had already chosen some flower arrangements and I brought pictures but I’m willing to change them if you have any better options.”

“Okay, let’s see them,” Benji says, forgetting all about what Victor has just said, or at least pretending to.

“I had chosen dahlias as the focal flower, and I wanted carnations as-”

“Oh, sweetie, no,” Benji interrupted her. “This is a wedding, not a funeral. Let’s talk about this, what’s your color scheme?” 

Victor sighs, glad that his sister intervened. He walks away to look around the shop, letting Benji and Pilar discuss whether dahlias would look good with roses or not.

* * *

“Thank you so much, Benji,” Pilar says, taking pictures of all the samples and flowers they’ve looked at. “I’m so glad Victor found you, these are perfect.”

“No problem at all, this is what we do,” He says with a small laugh.

“Well, I’m glad this is sorted out, I can go stress out about something else now.”

Benji nods and waves at her.

“Thank you, I-I’ll see you around, I guess,” Victor says shyly, walking behind Pilar toward the door.

“Sure,” Benji says, stopping himself from saying anything he might regret later. “Bye,” he adds barely above a whisper.

As soon as they’re out of the shop, Pilar turns to Victor and catches him with a dumb shy smile on his face. 

“You like Benji,” she says matter-of-factly.

“What?” Victor’s smile disappears. “I mean, he’s nice, of course I like him.”

“No, you like  _ like  _ him.”

Victor rolls his eyes. “I don’t.”

“Then why do you have that dumb smile on your face?” She asks, a hint of a smile on her face.

“What are you talking about? What dumb smile?” 

Pilar stops him from walking any further by grabbing his arm. “Don’t play dumb with me.”

“I’m not,” Victor lies.

“You should invite him to the wedding, as your plus one.” 

“Are you insane? I don’t even know him.” Victor shakes his head. “No way.”

Pilar crosses her arms. “Fine, whatever. It was just an idea.” She frowns. “Wait, I forgot my purse. Dammit. Go get in the car, I’ll be right back.”

Victor does as he’s told and Pilar goes back to the flower shop, a mischievous smile on her face. The bell rings announcing her entrance.

“Welcome to- Oh! Hey, you’re back,” Benji says surprised.

“Okay, look, I love my brother but he’s an idiot. To prove my point, he thinks I forgot my purse and I didn’t even bring one.” She purses her lips. “I hope you’re not an idiot. Here’s his number, if you’re interested…” She grabs a pen from Benji’s desk and jots the number down on his notepad. “You’re interested, right? You two kept exchanging these weird longing looks and I… He deserves a great love story and you seem… nice enough. Just-”

“I am!” Benji blurts out. “Interested, I mean. I am. I just don’t have much-”

“He’ll call him,” Felix says coming out from the back of the store.

Benji turns around with a murderous expression. “Felix…”

“I’ll make sure of it.” 

“Okay, good. See you around, Benji.” Pilar walks out of the store without looking back.

“What the hell, Felix?” Benji asks angrily.

“You deserve a great love story, too.” Felix shrugs. “You heard what she said, don’t be an idiot and call him. Ask him out on a date.”

“N-no.” Benji goes to check the water on the roses, wanting to stop the conversation.

“Benji, you’re working so hard,” Felix says, “You have to stop running from living your life. You’re here every single day and it’s not healthy.”

Benji shrugs. “I just wanna prove that I can do this.”

“You’ve proven that. You have a very successful flower shop. If it gets to be too much we can even hire someone else, that’s not an issue and you know it.” Felix states.

Benji thinks about Felix’s words, they’re all true but...

“If you do it, I’ll take care of Lake’s orders from now on, you won’t ever have to deal with her again.”

“Wh- Huh, really?” Benji says, stroking his chin thoughtfully, the offer was tempting. “I don’t-”

“And I’ll process the roses for a month,” Felix adds.

Benji sighs. “I haven’t been on a date in years, I don’t even know what to do.”

“Now you’re just making excuses,” Felix one of his eyebrows accusingly. “Call him. Right now.”

Benji bites his lip trying to stop himself from giggling, the butterflies in his stomach twirling around making him dizzy with excitement. Felix is right, he is making excuses but can you blame him? He’s nervous, he hasn’t liked a guy like this in months… Years, even.

He grabs his phone with shaky hands and types in the numbers Pilar scribbled on his notepad. The phone rings one, two, th-

“ _ Hello?” _ Victor’s voice comes through the speaker.

“Uh, hi, it’s Benji, from ‘By Any Other Name’.” He says, his voice betraying his nerves.

_ “Oh! Hey, what’s up?”  _ Victor says, before adding. “ _ Wait, how did you get my number?” _

“Your sister…”

“ _ Pilar. _ ” They say at the same time.

“Yeah,” Benji adds, unsure of what else to say, he looks up to Felix watering the plants and pretending not to be listening intently. “So, I wanted to… Just… I was wondering if-if you’d like to maybe go out on a date?”

_ “Oh, with you?” _

Benji frowns. “No, with Felix...” He chuckles. “Yeah, with me.”

“ _ I- Y-yes,”  _ Victor says quickly. “ _ I’d love to.” _

“Awesome,” Benji says, unable to stop a giggle from coming through. “Is next Friday good for you?”

“ _ Sure.” _

“Great.”

_ “Benji?”  _ Victor asks quietly.

“Yeah?” 

“ _ I’m glad you called. _ ”

Benji scrunches up his face, trying to stop himself from squealing. “Me, too… See you on Friday?”

“ _ Yes. Can’t wait. Bye. _ ” Victor says before hanging up.

Felix comes up to him pretending to not have heard a thing. “So what happened?”

“He said yes.” Benji shrugs, trying to look nonchalant. “And I’m taking Friday off.”

Felix dances around with his stupid flower crown somehow staying firmly on his head.

Benji almost wants to say thank you to Felix for forcing him to do it. Almost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Venji makes me happy! And there's one more to go! <3


	3. roses

“No, Felix, no,” Lake grunts. “That’s not how you make a bouquet!”

Felix scowls and sends a deathly glare to Benji, who’s quietly laughing on a corner, working on some corsages.

“I hate these colors together,” Lake states.

“Alright, fine, which ones do you want me to change?”

“That’s your work, not mine!” Lake says pouting.

“Lake, I swear to-”

“Okay! I’ll take over now, Felix, go finish those corsages,” Benji instructs quickly, he can’t afford to lose Lake, as annoying as she is.

Felix looks like he’s about to complain but ends up raising his arms in defeat and going to Benji’s desk where a bunch of dahlias, roses, and greens are thrown around.

Benji goes to the back of the store and looks around the cooler for their pre-made bouquets, wondering if he’ll be able to solve this quickly and send Lake on her way or if he’ll have to keep changing flowers and colors for the next hour or so. She has already been at the shop for more than half an hour so he’s hoping for the former.

Benji moves buckets and bins out of the way, searching for a hydrangeas and roses bouquet he had arranged that morning. It’s on the expensive side but he’s almost sure Lake will take it.

He grabs the vase just as he hears the entrance bell ringing, and then Felix doing their usual greeting.

“Benji, it’s for you!” Felix shouts next.

Benji closes the cooler quickly and takes the vase with him to the front, expecting to see a delivery man waiting for his signature or something along those lines. What he isn’t expecting is Victor, nervously looking around the shop, just as he always does.

Their first date had been amazing, Benji had asked him immediately after for a second one, which was supposed to be that evening.

“Hey, Vic,” Benji glances at the clock on the wall with his brow furrowed, wondering if he’s late for their date. “I thought we were supposed to meet later today?”

“Uh, yeah, yeah. That’s still happening.” Victor clears his throat. “I’m here to buy some flowers.”

“Oh, okay. Yeah, this is a flower shop, you’re in the right place.” Benji says awkwardly, he turns to Felix. “Can you…?” He motions toward Lake and the new arrangement.

Lake has a knowing smirk on her face. “I’ll take it, it’s beautiful.” She says before turning and smiling at Victor. “Benji is so talented, isn’t he? He always makes the prettiest arrangements.”

“He is… He’s the best,” Victor nods.

Felix frowns. “Whatever, my art is not for everyone.” He mutters before going to the cash register to charge her.

“So, what will it be today?” Benji asks Victor, he walks towards one of the displays and says: “We just got these beautiful lisianthouses and I think they’d look beautiful in a bouquet, I’m sure your mom would love it.”

“Actually, um, I’m looking for something different this time…” He licks his lips. “What flowers say: ‘I really  _ really _ like you and I’d like to bring you as my date for my sister’s wedding’?” 

Benji looks away, trying to control his racing heart. He clears his throat. “Um, well, starting with greenery I’d go with myrtle which means ‘innocence’; let’s say, um, bright pink asters for filling and a couple of gardenias which say ‘you’re lovely’, white camellias as the focal point: those symbolize ‘affection’. And we can add baby’s breath because they’d look good and also because they represent ‘pureness’.”

Victor chuckles. “You don’t have any of those, do you?” 

“I have  _ some _ of those,” Benji clarifies. Victor laughs and looks around the shop. “Or you could just go with a bouquet of gerbera daisies,” Benji adds after a moment.

“Why? What do those mean?” 

Benji shrugs. “They’re just my favorites.” 

Victor giggles and nods. “Okay. I’ll take a bouquet of those, then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end!! I loved writing this story and I just hope you all had as much fun reading this as I had writing it <3


End file.
